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Unfortunately, due to lack of interest, we’ve cancelled this workshop/class for May. We are working to find an alternative date this Fall 2018.

Karl and I are pleased to announce that we have been asked by a friend to teach a First Degree Reiki class in May. It’s been a few years since we’ve taught a First Degree class and we are very excited to share Reiki with the community!

My nineteen year journey as a young onset Parkinson’s disease carepartner has been full of joy, adventures, excitement, challenges and new experiences. When Parkinson’s disease (PD) entered my life, it was not a shock. I met my husband, Karl, post-diagnosis. I’ve never known Karl without Parkinson’s.

At this point, the progression of Parkinson’s is moving slowly with little impact on our lives. The most disruptive part of Parkinson’s at this moment is dealing with the unpredictability of the medications. Not knowing if the medications will work or not work, throughout the day, makes for an always shifting agenda. No plans are set in stone. Decisions are made on a moment by moment basis. During the day, I may say:

“Let’s wait 30 minutes and see if the pills kick in.”

“I’ll drop you off at the restaurant and go park the car.”

“No need to come with me. I’ll run into the store and grab the item we need.”

Being mindful is one of my tools to living in each moment with peace. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s key teaching is that through mindfulness, we can learn to live happily in the present moment — the only way to truly develop peace, both in one’s self and in the world.

Mindfulness has not always been a part of my caregiving toolbox. I work on being mindful every day with varying levels of success. Of course, there are times where mindfulness flies out the window and anger flies in.

Renowned author and speaker on self-development and spiritual growth, Dr. Wayne Dyer says in his book, The Power of Intention:

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

I find this sentence to be profound. It makes me think differently: change my attitude, change my focus, change my mood, and even change my mindset! This phrase inspires me to set a tone for each moment of my day. I invoke this phrase to improve my own mental, emotional and physical self-care.

How do you view your life? Day? This moment? We all have choices. Do we become so consumed by our carepartner/caregiver responsibilities that we forget we have choices? Optimism can be a choice.

Although we may be unable to change today’s challenge, maybe we can choose to see things differently? Imagine using this phrase as a filter to view your life as a Parkinson’s disease carepartner/caregiver living with daily challenges. If you are always living in the future, you cannot be in the present. I’m not naive enough to think that optimism solves all the issues that PD carepartners/caregivers face.

Take time for yourself to give yourself care. Even the smallest change in your own care can bring you big benefits.

Angela Robb is a Parkinson’s disease (PD) carepartner and Reiki Master who shares and teaches the value of Reiki (ray-key) to the Parkinson’s community.

Here is Megumi’s bio: Having gone through a spinal injury and being told my prognosis was being paraplegic was a HUGE wakeup call! I was fortunate to have a friend who introduced me to essential oils that stopped the swelling in my spine so that I regained full mobility! With that experience, it fired my interest to learn more about Holistic health. Each day I realize how powerful Essential Oils and Reiki is in my life! Through my practice, I’ve seen firsthand how the combination of the modalities can benefit all aspects of your life: Mental (behavior modification, stress management, emotional release, depression), Physical (backaches, allergies, and other diseases) and spiritual. I feel lucky to have been taught great gifts to add to my tool box that will help me, help others, become empowered one person at a time.

Whether you are newly diagnosed or have had Parkinson’s disease for many years, younger or older, the lessons that Karl Robb offers in this book will apply to your situation. A culmination of over twenty years of personal experience, in A Soft Voice in a Noisy World, Karl Robb provides an assortment of tips and suggestions that have made a difference in his life and benefited him in his personal struggle with PD. This guide shows how one man successfully navigated the medical gauntlet with the support of his wife and care partner, and found his answers, often in the unlikeliest of places.

Drawn from the pages of the popular Parkinson’s blog, ASoftVoice.com, this once-skeptic turned Reiki master describes the importance of complementary therapies to “Parkinsonians” through his personal mind, body, and spirit journey, detailing the role these have played in the course of his personal healing. In this book you will learn how through maintaining a positive attitude and utilizing Reiki and other complementary therapies, Karl has kept his Parkinson’s in check, slowed the disease’s progression, and amazingly seen signs of improvement, even after over two decades of dealing with PD.

This book is a compilation of hundreds of insights and practical tools intended to add inspiration and ease to your daily life, including suggestions and resources for bettering your patient-doctor experience, living a productive and happy life, staying fit and active, traveling, participating in support groups, being a PD advocate, improving your mind-body connection, and empowering yourself to heal.